November 27th, 2009
From the stressed-graduate-student existence of Joni Sadler:
Eschewing the cheeky sloppiness that often accompanies the ‘weird punk‘ aesthetic, Vancouver’s Nü Sensae lets loose with a visceral attack of noisy jams that are over much too quick for their own good. The eight songs crammed onto this one-sided 12″ are short bursts of frantic drumming, dirty fuzzed-out bass riffs, and Andrea Luki?’s snarled vocals, all packaged together into a wholly ear-blistering listen. When they turn up the rage and Luki? unleashes that scream of hers, she sounds like the single most badass frontwoman of any band, ever. This is punk rock that isn’t afraid to be abrasive; the duo takes pride in the rough edges and lo-fi grit of their songs, and rightfully so. If only more bands had as much guts as these kids do and the sense of recklessness that actually lets them pull it all off without sounding forced. This record leaves little doubt that Nü Sensae means business.
[Levin's Note: Every time I listen to this 12" I feel like I'm getting punched in the face. Very limited pressing. GRIP OR REGRET.]
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Nü Sensae – Raven Tussle
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Nü Sensae – Peter Tripp
File under: 90s // inw // no-wave // weird punk
Categoria!! 12" :: New Canadiana :: british columbia | 3 Comments »
October 1st, 2009
Rivaling Fixture Records as best-designed multi-format boutique label in Canada, Hobo Cult really delivered with a small package of incredibly wyld and strange music; Wasted Widow being the first of many reviews to come. Caught in the imaginative triangulation of punk, noise-psych, and experimentalism, Les Douches Romaines captures a unique moment in uncategorized music. No-gaze? Adjective-wave? Who cares? Classification will certainly fail when filing away Wasted Widow’s wailing distorted guitar, granular noise, vocals delayed beyond calculation, and incongruent notions of song structure. It’s droney and psychedelic and noisey and weird and awesome! I had to have a time-out in my apartment and re-calibrate my association with commonly held notions of “genre” and “taste.” Incredible (no hyperbole). And, yes, those drums are looped in Skyscrape My Shapes. Wasted, indeed!
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Wasted Widow – Skyscrape My Shapes
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Wasted Widow – Heroin Quest (w/ Clef Guitarson)
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Wasted Widow – Love Child (w/ Clef Guitarson)
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Wasted Widow – Hospital Memorium (exit)
File under: experimental // hobo cult // no-wave // noise // psych // punk // weird punk
Categoria!! New Canadiana :: compact disc :: quebec | 1 Comment »
August 5th, 2009
Eleven thirty-second art-punk anthems straddling a thin-line between no-pop and art-wave (it would have been a lot less interesting for me to say “no-wave and art-pop,” so deal with it). Take ex-Mark Birtles Project and Wolfnote members and put them through the Homosexuals‘ school of everything-under-a-minute rock-anthemy as taught by Devo. You might be close. There’s nothing frivolous and only the good art is spared. It’s music; to the point. They obviously have a sense of humour, but the not the kind that gives you the “no” feeling. Bayonets!!! give me a “yes” feeling.
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Bayonets!!! – What Is It
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Bayonets!!! – Spank Lloyd Wright
File under: art-punk // mbp // no-wave // pop // thirty seconds // wolfnote
Categoria!! New Canadiana :: alberta :: cassette | 2 Comments »
July 1st, 2009
Puberty sucks. Remember that sterile, confusing, and awkward time in every person’s life? Where they quickly discover just how ugly they really are. On the other hand, Puberty’s incarnation as three beautiful and awkward women from Calgary is exciting, inspiring, and everything that puberty isn’t. It’s hard to not become affectionate with their weird concoction of post-punk jangle and water-slide slurpee pop. Every time I see them in Calgary I want to shout with glee: “the pubes!” while the drummer bashes away on cymbals and microphones. They’re everyone’s favorite band and why the hell not? Their unadulterated approach to punk makes me think back to my experience with puberty. Maybe bus-stop boners and B.O weren’t so bad? This Live CD (#6 in an edition of 10) is pretty raw, but the sessions recorded at CJSW lead us in the right direction; Mac’s – let’s purchase cigarettes for minors and continue the trend.
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Puberty – Tarnation
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Puberty – Common Sense
File under: femme // no-wave // post-punk // puberty
Categoria!! New Canadiana :: alberta :: compact disc | 1 Comment »
